Some Google Searches Now Blocked In China 84
bannable writes with this from the Wall Street Journal: "Google Inc. said that its Web search service in mainland China was partially blocked Wednesday, the deadline for the company to extend its Internet operating license in the country. The company said the blockage appeared to affect only search queries generated by mainland China users of the company's Google Suggest function, which automatically recommends search queries based on the first few letters a user types into the search box."
it makes me wonder (Score:3, Interesting)
What are my obligations as a human being to run an open proxy for IP addresses that come from China? (i.e. drop the rest of the IPs to keep freeloaders out); I am torn between the trouble *I* can get in for blindly proxying traffic, versus the feel good vibe from letting someone get onto the unfiltered net. Thoughts?
Re:it makes me wonder (Score:3, Interesting)
What are my obligations as a human being to run an open proxy for IP addresses that come from China? (i.e. drop the rest of the IPs to keep freeloaders out); I am torn between the trouble *I* can get in for blindly proxying traffic, versus the feel good vibe from letting someone get onto the unfiltered net. Thoughts?
Well, let me tell you a story.
Way back in 2006 or so, I went on a trip to China. This was back when the Great Firewall blocked Wikipedia, and a few weeks in, I was suffering from Wikipedia-withdrawal. So I called one of my friends, who was a coder for an online MUD, and got him to set up a web proxy on the MUD's website.
I even made an edit on that proxy: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Business_Professionals_of_America&diff=prev&oldid=68970071 [wikipedia.org] - that's how I discovered their server had mod_rewrite on, and the proxy software didn't have a workaround for that. Had to get my friend to fix the quote escaping.
Anyway, three days later, the site was blocked. Nothing else happened. I mentioned it to my mom, and she said that's usually how it goes. The government passively adds blocks and deletes messages you make that it disapproves of, but it doesn't actively seek you out and tell you to stop, or otherwise punish you.
I suspect that's how it'll go if you set up a proxy. It gets blocked quickly, nothing else happens.
Re:jack (Score:4, Interesting)
There is never a need for authoritarianism.
This is really an interesting question, because democracy requires a certain amount of maturity by the populace. Just like freedom of speech; are you willing to let your neighbor say annoying things to guarantee that right to yourself? Are you willing to give your neighbor that you hate the freedoms of democracy so that you might also live in a fair country?
My sister went to Jordan recently, and talked to a Christian man who said, "Democracy is great for America, but I don't want it here. If there were democracy, the majority will kill and persecute us small minority Christians." And he was right, there are problems with having a king in Jordan, but he maintains peace.
Democracy requires maturity, and not so long ago, the Chinese people didn't have it. The cultural revolution was a populist movement: it was encouraged by Mao, but the destruction and misery was supported and largely run by the people.
How will we know when the Chinese people are ready for a non-authoritarian government? When they rise up and demand it. It's not wise to try to force it on them.
Re:jack (Score:1, Interesting)
Because when a society changes too quickly it become unstable. Remember the 1960's? Or the collapse of the Soviet Union? More than 20 years later Russia has yet to recover.
Random, but related (Score:3, Interesting)
A recent foray into the underworld of chatroulette led me to a conversation with two Chinese nationals, although admittedly I WAS looking for naked fat bald men... They asked me what I thought of Obama, and I told them I wasn't fond of socialist or communist policies that manage vast amounts of my paycheck for me. I asked them what they thought of their government. Their only response was a single word: "love".
It showed to me that the average Chinese citizen is keenly aware of the ability of the government to spy on them and monitor activities. It also seemed as though there was some degree of fear. Granted they weren't afraid of talking to me or asking about the United States, but talking about their own government was a big no no, and could bring reprisals.
Re:it makes me wonder (Score:3, Interesting)
Would it have made any difference if the connection to the proxy was encrypted?